This case study is about the Midwestern: Contemporary Art Museum, it is one of the nation's biggest facilities about modern art. The museum purchased the first building in the year 1977 which was three storied. Later to that in the year 1989, Keith Schmidt was elected as executive director in the month of January and in the same year 1989, in the month of April; chairmanship of Peter Smith begun. Both Smith and Schmidt often had harsh discussions and were noticed by the board members several times. The major reasons of having debate between the two was the speedy decisions taken by Schmidt for MCA's expansion without consented from Smith whereas Smith followed more of conservative approach in taking decisions. The approaches suggested by both major pillars of the museum were totally different. Few board members were in favour of Schmidt's fast decisions for the expansion of MCA whereas few board members were with Smith for following steady and conservative methods. Due to the regular tiff between Schmidt and Smith, Smith resigned from the position in December 1991.
1: Is Peter Smith micromanaging Keith Schmidt?
2: What type of conflict are they experiencing?
3: What can an organization do structurally to reduce conflict resulting from role ambiguity?
4: How should Peter Smith react when his advice is not followed by the board?
5: How are the roles of board chairman and an executive director different in an organization such as MCA?